Regina's New Job
by Raeinspace
Summary: Set after the curse breaks, AU. Regina is no longer the mayor, Emma suggests a new job (sorry, I'm terrible at summaries - suggestions welcome). SwanQueen.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or it's characters, etc.**

**AN: A nice, long first chapter just because I couldn't decide where to put a break in. Future chapters will probably be much shorter. Set after the curse has broken, slight AU for the direction it's taking, obviously. Enjoy.**

* * *

Emma dropped by to see Regina during her lunch break. Since her parents had taken over the joint running of the town the now ex-mayor was jobless. It hadn't improved her disposition.

"Your father suggested I take his old job at the animal shelter." Regina rolled her eyes. "Like I would want to spend time looking after flea-ridden animals in a dingy little building all day."

"What about the library? Belle was offered Mary Margaret's old job."

She might have spent twenty-eight years learning about this world but the parents still wouldn't trust Regina with their children. Even after seeing how she was around Henry. Of course, Emma wasn't sure he would have appreciated having his mom for a teacher so she hadn't argued.

"The library? Why not keep me out of everyone's way and toss me down the elevator shaft? I'll find a job online, something that lets me work from home and then everyone will be happy."

"Well what qualifications do you have?"

"I did a couple of correspondence and online courses while I was mayor, just to keep contact with the outside world and make my job look legitimate. The certificates are in a box somewhere."

Emma began looking where Regina had casually pointed. There were blue boxes labelled alphabetically. She chose 'C' and pulled it out.

"This one?"

"Just sit down and eat your lunch. I can look through it later."

"I'm curious."

"Just because your parents are in charge doesn't mean you can take infinite lunch breaks." Regina reminded her.

Emma shrugged and brought the box back to her chair. "If I'm talking about work then it's classed as a working lunch and I can take my time. Why don't you tell me about your day while I… wow Regina, how many courses did you say you took?"

She flicked through the sheets of paper. Clearly Regina hadn't wasted the last twenty-eight years being idle. There were a variety of subjects and headers, some dated just before she had arrived in town.

"Things change so quickly here. They were my escape plan, in case the curse broke and I had to leave Storybrooke. It would be hard explaining why I had certificates which were too outdated and I kept finding new subjects which interested me so I kept studying."

"Literature, biology, chemistry…"

"Making me eminently more qualified than Belle to teach, I assure you."

"Hey, what's this one? Law?"

Regina raised an eyebrow. "Probably from the early days, when I thought it might be relevant."

Emma looked at the date. Yes, she'd barely started at school and Regina had already completed it.

"I always meant to look into a refresher course, but I doubt becoming a lawyer would help my reputation in this town."

Emma chuckled. "Good point, but what about law enforcement? I could use a deputy."

It was Regina's turn to laugh. "For a minute there I thought you were serious."

"I am."

"Really? The Evil Queen with a badge trying to stop crime and save people? I think you need to go and see Dr Whale….or Archie."

"I mean it. Together we'd have it covered. You could quote what laws they've broken and I can run them down and arrest them. You always said my reports needed work and you love paperwork."

"Nobody likes paperwork."

"But you're good at it and you're organised. It could work."

"I don't think. It's not a good idea."

"Why not?"

"We're dating for one."

"So, we can spend more time together."

"Two, a sheriff is a position of responsibility, no-one would agree to it."

"_Deputy _sheriff." Emma stressed.

Regina lifted her chin. "Full sheriff or nothing. I refuse to be lower."

"You can't have two sheriffs in a town this size. It's ridiculous."

"Problem solved."

Emma took out her cell.

"Who are you calling?"

Emma smiled at her. "Hi, it's me. So, can I make Regina my deputy?…. Uh huh, yeah she's right here. She has a law qualification and she knows the town inside out. I can give her paperwork to start her off…. Well, no she's frowning at me and shaking her head but I one of her arguments is that you wouldn't agree… that's great. I'm sure she wouldn't mind on a trial basis…"

Regina wanted to go over and strangle Emma. How dare she ask her _mother_? Now Snow White would tell people they were letting her take the job, and on a trial basis? Why did Henry insist on that ridiculous notion of her not using magic?

Emma ended the call and picked up her lunch, taking a large bite.

"Do I get a gun?" Regina asked, causing Emma to choke on the ham and cheese sandwich.

"What?" Emma reached for her drink.

Had she heard correctly?

"I'll accept a trial basis as deputy _if_ I become a full sheriff afterwards and _if_ I get a gun. After all I can't use magic to apprehend criminals."

God, people were going to be scared enough that she had a badge. They didn't believe she'd given up magic and they'd assume she'd cast a spell on them to arrest them; she couldn't arm her as well.

"Most of the work is finding lost pets, I don't think you'd need one."

"You have one and Graham had one."

"Do you even know how to use a gun?"

"Graham showed me once. Point and shoot. We practiced with tin cans in the woods, away from people. Part of his curse memories included information about guns, but I never thought I'd need one."

"There's more to it than that."

Her parents were going to kill her.

"Perhaps you could show me." Regina suggested, lowering her voice and leaning forward so that Emma caught a glimpse of the top of her bra. "We could make it a date. Go for dinner afterwards."

"A date at the shooting range?"

"Well, you'd have to show me how to hold the gun, maybe stand close behind me, put your hands over mine…"

Emma had goosebumps at the thought of pressing her body against Regina's. They still hadn't gone all the way in their relationship; scared in their own way. Then there was Henry…if he wasn't with one of them he was with the other. They had come close, once when he was at school and Emma had come over like this for lunch… then the call came in about a break-in across town so she'd had to leave. Now it felt like Regina was trying to avoid a reoccurrence, sitting away from her as they ate. Emma felt awkward mentioning it. She didn't want to push…

"Maybe your parents could baby-sit Henry?" Regina trying filling the silence Emma had left.

"Baby-sit?"

"While we have dinner. I assume we'll be out late. By the time you finish work, we go to the shooting range, eat…"

"Oh." She tried not to look too disappointed.

The front door slammed shut as Henry ran through the house. Emma hadn't heard it open.

"Hey mom's." He called out, spotting Emma's shoes and guessing which room they'd be in.

"Shouldn't you be at school?" Regina asked when he appeared.

"I had to come. I've been waiting all day…"

"It's only lunchtime."

"But I had to ask…"

"You cannot just leave school when you want to."

Henry looked towards Emma, hoping for some sympathy but she agreed with Regina on this one. She was not going to let her son throw away his future. He had to go to school.

"She's right. Unless there's been a major disaster, medical emergency or your teacher gave you permission…"

Henry shook his head. That meant she could expect a call from the school shortly. If they noticed he was missing.

"But Archie said Pongo's going to have puppies. Well not Pongo, _obviously_, but apparently some lady with a female Dalmatian contacted Archie…"

Emma merely raised an eyebrow but Regina looked shocked. Henry was too young to know where babies came from. She'd never had the talk with him. What did he know? Thankfully Emma took charge.

"Um, Henry, what did Archie tell you?"

"That they took the dogs to a vet and he helped make the puppies. He wouldn't tell me how exactly, said I should ask _you_…" Henry scrunched up his face. "But if it's going to be as complicated as biology homework usually is I'd rather wait until I can understand it a bit better."

_Thank God_, Regina loosened her grip on her plate.

"So anyway he asked if I would like a puppy, because he knows how much I like Pongo. He did say it would have to be all right with you and that it's a big responsibility. So, can I? Please?"

"When did these puppies arrive?" Emma asked.

"Emma!" Regina cut off Henry's reply. "I think we should discuss this and make a joint decision."

"So that's a 'no' then." Henry frowned.

"I didn't say that, but there is a lot to talk about. For example, where would the puppy live? You've got to train it, feed it and take care of it."

"It would live with me. Whichever house I'm staying at, it would come too."

"So you'd need two sets of everything in each house."

"Yeah, but not for a couple of months. It would love it here, you've got a big garden and maybe it could be company for you while I'm at school and Emma's at work."

"You did say you were looking into working from home…" Emma teased her.

"I am not having a dog dig up my garden and chew all of my shoes. A dog would just end up multiplying. I saw that film, you start with one, then it becomes two and soon there's a whole family of hundreds running around breaking things and slobbering over the furniture."

Emma chuckled. "You do realise that Disney film was cartoon dogs and that all those puppies weren't born to the two parents?"

"I watched the live action version and sympathised with…" Regina stopped before she said the misunderstood villains. "With the humans who had to look after all those animals."

"Henry, what did you mean a couple of months?"

"Well they haven't been born just yet and then they have to stay with the mother a couple of months. I thought I should ask you early and give you a chance to prepare… to consider it properly before saying yes or no."

Regina stood up. "So, you're telling us that you've skipped school for a conversation which could easily have waited another couple of hours? It doesn't seem very responsible Henry."

"But…"

"She's right. Come on, I'll take you back to school and then your mother and I will have a chat."

"About the puppies?"

Emma put a hand on his shoulder. "About your punishment for leaving school without permission."

She nodded to Regina and began to lead him out of the room.

"I can take him. You should get back to work." Regina told her.

"No, it's fine. I've got to stop off at the town hall on the way and sort out the trial basis stuff with our new mayors. Perhaps you want to come?"

Regina held out her hands in surrender. "Your idea, your meeting."

"What trial basis?" Henry asked, curious.

"Talk in the car kid, no more wasting time."

"Will you be coming back after?" Regina asked as she stood at the front door to see them out.

"Sure, we've got lots to discuss."

Henry just hoped Emma would persuade Regina to go easy on his punishment. It wasn't like he had done this kind of thing before. Well, okay that one time he left Storybrooke to find Emma, but since then…

Emma kissed Regina goodbye as Henry got into the car. She hoped meeting with her parents to discuss the job offer wouldn't take too long.

"Seatbelt." Emma reminded Henry as she started the engine.

As they drove away, he wondered if his grandparents would want a puppy.


	2. Chapter 2

"A puppy would be a good deputy for the sheriff, don't you think?" Regina asked as she passed Emma a cup of hot chocolate.

The diner wasn't busy at this hour, but they had taken a booth far away from everyone else to get a little privacy.

"You're trying to stick me with the dog?"

"I think it would be nice for Henry to have a pet. He's shown he can be responsible, … most of the time, but I'm not a dog person."

"You like Pongo."

"Correction: he likes me and so I stroke him to say hello but I wouldn't want a dog around 24/7. They want too much attention. With a cat you just put out a bowl of food and they'll fend for themselves. Dogs won't leave you alone, you have to take them for walks."

Emma smiled. Regina didn't realise how much she had changed. Emma could remember when she first arrived in Storybrooke, Regina barely acknowledged Archie had a dog.

"So if Henry wanted a cat, you'd let him have one?"

"God no. No pets."

"But you like horses?"

"Back in our world they were a means of transportation. They lived in a stable away from the house, not inside it."

Of course, going to the stables gave her a chance to get away from her mother. Stroking the horses and caring for them had felt good. She remembered brushing her horse and feeding it apples from the palm of her hand, calm and relaxed. Regina's breathing slowed as she pictured the stables, with Daniel waiting for her. Those were her happiest memories, until she had Henry.

Regina shook her head. "Horses are just different. So, we still have to talk about his punishment for leaving school."

"Grounding him? No TV? What would you usually do?"

"I think this situation calls for a different tactic."

"Like?"

"Helping out at the animal shelter."

"Won't he think we're going to let him get the puppy?"

"It's not a treat. He will be cleaning out cages and learning how much work goes into looking after animals."

"For how long?"

"Fitting it in around his schedule, I'd say a couple of hours every Saturday for two months."

"A bit too much. One month?"

The corner of Regina's lip lifted. "Six Saturdays."

"Agreed. So, about the job..."

Regina was a little unnerved that Emma had agreed so easily. Sure, since they had started dating they didn't argue as much, but…

"What did your parents say?"

"They agreed to the trial basis."

"You have surprised me."

"Which just leaves one final detail." Emma wrapped her fingers around her cup and looked up at Regina feeling a little nervous.

A half-dozen dates and it still felt like the first one was only just over.

"And that is?"

"To set a date for the shooting range."

"It's your night to have Henry." Regina reminded her.

"I've got the babysitting covered. Unless you have other plans?"

"Social pariah. I think I'm free."

"Good. I'll pick you up after work, then we can grab dinner."

* * *

Okay, so maybe she had lied a little. Emma pulled up to her parent's office and went inside. They had agreed to Regina's trial in theory, but they hadn't had time to argue out the little details before they had to get back to work and asked her to come back later. The secretary smiled at her as she walked over and waved her on in, who would stop the saviour from going to see her parents?

Snow sat behind the desk while her husband took some paperwork out of a filing cabinet. They had brought an extra desk into Regina's old office, putting them side-by-side and cheering up the décor with pictures of their family on the walls and desks.

Emma knocked on the open door.

"Come in." Snow smiled when she saw her but didn't stand.

She was in the middle of writing an email and needed to concentrate for just another moment before sending it. The wording had to be just right or it might offend someone and that could cause them even more work.

"Running Storybrooke may be harder than ruling a kingdom." David acknowledged when he saw her. "You'd think having all this technology would make it easier, but…"

"Regina managed it." Emma reminded him. "Her organisation skills will be a great asset as deputy sheriff."

"Ah, yes. _That_. Emma, your mother and I have been talking and…"

"Finished!" Snow's exclamation of triumph drew their attention away from each other, but only for a second.

"I told Regina you agreed to the trial basis." Emma folded her arms and stared at her parents, daring them to tell her they'd changed their minds.

Her stubborn expression reminded Snow of her husband. They had agreed, but only because Emma had cornered them when they were too busy to think about what they were agreeing to. Since then, they'd had time to talk.

"And, well, we're worried about what people will say." Snow tried to explain.

"They'll see you giving her another chance and trust you because you're the symbol of all things good." Emma was only half-serious.

"We understand that you want to help her…"

"But we're just not sure she's ready for this kind of role." Snow finished his sentence. "Perhaps she could take Belle's place in the library?"

"Look, this wasn't Regina's idea, it was mine. She's too smart to be stuck in a job she doesn't want. Yes Belle was smart, but she loved books and she loved the library so that was different." Time to try another tactic. "I could really use Regina's help. Two sheriffs means half the paperwork and I could have more time to spend with Henry, being his mom."

That got Snow's sympathy straight away. Emma could see some hope for her cause. Maybe she shouldn't mention the gun part just yet. Get something in writing first, then ease them into the idea once Regina had proven herself competent.

"There would have to be something in place to monitor her progress."

"Well, I'll be there. We can work together as I show her the ropes and I'll let you know how she's getting on."

"There won't be a conflict of interest there? With Henry, I mean?"

"No. He's the reason she's been trying to change."

"What about you?"

"Me?"

"You won't have a conflict of interest, working with Regina?"

No way her parents knew. They still hadn't told Henry. It had only been a couple of dates, easily passed off with the excuse they were meeting to talk about Henry. Regina had suggested showing everyone that they could be friends first, just so they weren't too shocked. Emma had wondered if that was Regina's fear talking, thinking they wouldn't make it that long. She hoped it wasn't true. The way she felt about her, well, she wasn't about to let her go over a silly little argument. Not that they had really argued since they started dating. Perhaps that had clued her parents in?

_Damn_, how long had it been since they asked that question?

Emma pretended to be thinking about her answer, as if that would show she had been seriously considering the possibility. "No. I think we can both be professional. Any arguments about Henry… you can trust us to focus on the job."

"Okay, I just thought that you've been acting a little differently around her recently."

"We haven't been fighting as much, if that's what you mean. I guess not having the stress of being mayor makes her less grumpy about other things."

Her father laughed. "I can understand that."

"But" her mother pressed, "you'll be the one working with her all the time. She's still Regina. Are you sure that you don't mind?"

"Look, it might not work out. She might decide the library is more suitable for her and that's okay. I just… she just needs to be doing _something_."

"You think she might go back to her old self if she doesn't have a job?"

"Henry, remember, but I don't think he'd appreciate having her put all her energy into looking after him."

"I guess when she was the mayor she had limited time to do that."

"So, can I get something in writing authorising the funds for her new job and maybe a few words to everyone else to give her a chance to do this?"

David shrugged and looked at Snow. It was her decision. As always, when it came to Regina, she had the final word.

Eventually, Snow nodded. She didn't look happy with her decision, but she made it anyway. She just wished she understood why it made Emma so happy.


End file.
